Tony writes: The photo was taken in the WRAN production studio, not the air studio.   We were all visiting Schneider that night. For some reason, I felt inspired to cut a promo for him.  It really was a great promo...  clocks ticking, alarm bells, ducks quacking, babies crying, reverse reverb of Schneider's name, and some bohunk rocker shouting "rock and roll!"... Gene used it for the rest of his run at RAN.

I was at NBC for most if not all of 76 and perhaps 75 as well. Immediately before that, I was working part-time at WQIV in NY (around 74-75) and earlier at WXLO from June 73 to sometime in 74.  The photo was taken in June of 1975.

My spotty run at WRAN began around 1969.  It was the week after Woodstock, whenever that was.  I was working at WDHA on alternate shifts with some other dj who went to the festival and never returned, forcing me to work without relief.  Pete Arnow and Bob Linder were out of town for several days and could not be reached.  No other employee was available. I got fed up, quit, and signed the station off in the middle of the afternoon. DHA's morning dj, who happened to drop in to loot the record library in the absence of management, reluctantly put the station back on about an hour later.  By that time, I was already on the air at WRAN. ... I was back at WRAN the next summer but no air shifts were available. Instead, Al Wunder hired me to paint the building.   At some later point, probably in 71 or 72, Wunder fired me for playing an unauthorized song.   He called me at home to tell me my services would no longer be required.   I refused to accept that and immediately drove to the station to argue with him.  He ended up offering me my job back...  He agreed, ... probably out of the realization that he'd have to go back on the air himself to fill my shift.

Here's more from Randy, who was Chief Engineer of WRAN during the Lion Broadcasting days and, as he indicates below, briefly for Media Horizons...

I lasted about a year or a little more after the change.  I think Media bought in '68 or '69.  Dave Homlund was there under both.  If he's still with us and anyone knows where, he could help.  Art Lewis also was there at the transition.  Is he still around?

Noticing the studio pix... When I left we had turned the console 90 degrees to the left so that the operator could see (a) the news booth, (b) the transmitter room, and (c) out into the lobby so nobody could sneak up on him.  It was that way for at least acouple of years before I left.  Evidently someone turned it back. 

I note the utility box with the rotary switches on it under the cart machines.   I built that for the 'phone system.  It was just after Carterphone, and we wanted to be able to air 'phone calls without the horrendous BEEEP that had been required up until then.  Each switch was on one 'phone line, for a total of 5, as the 'phone system was a five line 1-A-2.  The switch would do exactly the things that picking up the handset would do, but it put a resistor across the line to keep it off hook, and a couple of (large) capacitors fed an input on the board.  No Mix-Minus, no mic to 'phone line either!  The op. used the handset for two-way conversations.  It was primative, but it worked. 

One day the man from the 'phone company came and saw it, and immediately began tearing it out.  I spoke thw word "Carterphone", he turned beet red and put it all back!  A very early victory for broadcasting.

The pix also show the Tapecaster cart machines.  I specified them.  The Collins machines were no end of trouble, and were costing money with lost spots and poor sounding spots.  The Tapecasters were cheap, simple, and they WORKED!  At the same time we bought a Tapecaster delay machine.  It was in the production room, where the record library stayed. Was that still there too?  It could record regular carts if you didn't tell it to do delay, which would erase the beginning of the spot as well as the stop tone.  I note a Senheizer mic.  Originally there was an RCA 77DX.  Do we know who got that?  There was also a condenser mic, complete with power supply, etc.  Nobody liked it, and so it stayed in the shop, in its box.  Even had a spare tube for it.

Enough!  I've rained enough.  I even rain a bit on myself when I realize the potential the station had and how it was never exploited in a manner that actually was useful to the community.  Too many Get Rich Quick, and I Know What's Best managerial people, ane too few real broadcaters with a feel for North Jersey as a place near to, but separate and apart from New York City.  The metropolitan atmosphere, but with a semi rural flavor.  It could still be there, had some people with vision had the money and insight to capitalize on it.

Saw the WNNJ spread on the link.  Is the AM still there at 1360?  Shocked to see that Clearchannel even wants the little ones.  They have about a third of the Tucson stations, and a similar number of Phoenix, and seem to want to have them all.